"Watching Washington" for Thirty-Five Years

"Watching Washington" for Thirty-Five YearsAuthor(s): Garrett WhitesideSource: The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Sep., 1942), pp. 235-243Published by: Arkansas Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40030573 .

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"WATCHING WASHINGTON" FOR THIRTY-FIVE YEARS

By Garrett Whiteside -

"watching Washington" thirty-five years 235

On March 4, 1942, the writer began the thirty-sixth year of continuous service as a Congressional secretary. The period covered by the preceding thirty-five years has been the most colorful period of the republic.1 In it we have

1 Because of Mr. Whiteside's long service in Washington, the Editors thought that a contribution from him would be of interest to owr readers. Concerning Mr. Whiteside, the Hon. Fadjo Cravens, representative from the fourth district of Arkansas, inserted the following comment into the Congressional Record of April £1, 1941:

"Mr. CRAVENS. Mr. Speaker. March 4 of this year marked another mile- stone in one of the most unique careers in the legislative history of this country. On that day Garrett Whiteside, of Nashville, Ark., finished 34 years of continuous secretarial service in the Congress of the United States and launched upon his thirty-fifth year of such service and as though it were but another day. He is the oldest in point of service of any man in the legislative branch with the exception of Hon. A. J. Sabath, of Illinois.

"Coming to Washington on March 4, 1907, as secretary to the late Congress- man Ben Cravens, of Arkansas, he has remained here continuously in that and similar positions to others both in the House of Representatives and in the Sen- ate. He has served, in succession, the late Otis T. Wingo, of Arkansas; the late Senator T. H. Caraway, of the same state; and now with the present senior Senator from Arkansas, Hattie W. Caraway. During those years many exciting experiences have been encountered to enliven the routine of congressional and senatorial offices.

"Quiet, retiring, unassuming, Garrett Whiteside probably knows and is known by more people in the Capitol and congressional offices than any other person. Those "places have been his workshops for 34 years. There he has seen history made, and he has helped make it".

On December 11, 1941, Senator Lister Hill of Alabama read into the Record an article from the Washington Times-Herald of December 9, giving some facts which have been briefly summarized in the Quarterly (see page 190):

"Gentle, soft-spoken, Garrett Whiteside, who lives by the creed: There is no sin save unkindness, yesterday had a hand in sending the United States into a world war for the second time.

"Twenty- four years ago, this tall, slender, now graying dean of senatorial secretaries, typed the resolution by which Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

"Yesterday, the genial gentleman from Arkansas, as clerk of the Senate Com- mittee on Enrolled Bills, certified as correct and presented the resolution de- claring a state of war exists between the United States for the signatures of Speaker Rayburn, Vice President Wallace and President Roosevelt.

" 'Modest as my part may be,' said Whiteside, after his return to the Capitol from the White House, where the President affixed his bold signature to the war



236 ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

seen war and peace ; boom times and depression.

America was hewn from the wilderness. Its pioneers did a wonderful job. - one which will always remain high in the annals of history as a major achievement. It was once possible, when certain areas became overcrowded and the economic condition became upset, to move farther west and take advantage of the undeveloped areas. This period reached its climax and came to an end in the time in which I have been connected with the Congress. Within this period the United States, as such, has been completed. The last three of the states have entered the Union, beginning with Oklahoma in November, 1907, and New Mexico and Arizona in 1912. It is now within the continental limits of the United States that we have to work out our future destiny.

There is an unusual feature connected with this

period. It is that citizens of the United States have finally become recognized as a separate people. The United States

resolution, 'it is a solemn duty, this handling of war resolutions. Our cause is a righteous one and I feel honored that I should have even a small part in this action by Congress to protect our possessions and our freedom.'

"Whiteside, now secretary to Senator Hattie Caraway, of Arkansas, by a strange circumstance, was clerk of the House Committee on Enrolled Bills when President Woodrow Wilson appeared before Congress and asked for a declaration of war on Germany. He listened to the President and then returned to work in his office just off the House floor.

"About 11 p. m. the late Representative Hal Flood, of Virginia, then chair- man of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, entered with the late Sir Cecil Arthur Spring Rice then British Ambassador to the United States.

" 'Can you use a typewriter?' asked Flood. Whiteside, who had been a court reporter in his time, said he could.

"With Sir Cecil standing by, Flood dictated the brief war resolution direct to the typewriter, as Whiteside' s nimble fingers flew over the keys. He had a carbon copy and said yesterday that he regretted not making a third copy as a memento of the momentous occasion.

"When Whiteside presented the war resolution to the President yesterday, Mr. Roosevelt remarked :

" 'It is remarkable that you should have handled both resolutions which commit this country to the greatest wars in history.'

"Mr. HILL. Mr. President, since this article was written Mr. Whiteside has handled and presented to the President the declarations of war with Germany and Italy. This makes the unusual circumstances of one man handling every declaration of war in which the United States has been engaged since the Spanish- American War in 1898."




is builded from a mixture of a human melting pot. Out of its crucible of many peoples and races the American has come. It has only been possible for a few years now to distinguish Americans abroad as such, unless too vividly marked by a strain of foreign ancestry.

There has been during this period an almost complete change in our policy of government. When I first came to Washington, about the only connection the average citi- zen had with the government was the Postal Service and the Federal courts. Now there is scarcely a human activity of its citizens that is not closely related to Govern- ment control. State rights, about which a great war was once fought, have almost completely vanished. There are many reasons for this. One of the causes has been the rapid growth of transportation which has made state border geographical lines fade into imagination only. Another reason has been the lure of Federal gold aiding in the con- duct of the state governments.

It is possible in a short article to mention only the highlights of this governmental transition, and those briefly are:

The adoption of the constitutional amendment in 1913 providing for the direct election of the members of the United States Senate was a very important turn in governmental affairs. No longer can the Senate be referred to as the "Millionaire's Club", and considered not greatly responsive to the electorate. In fact, the adoption of this amendment changed the complexion of the Senate to a great degree. It has become more liberal.

In later years it has been constantly repeated that the Senate is more truly representative than the House of Representatives itself. That body has become very rigidly controlled. Under its rules the members lack much personal liberty. Measures can be put through or blocked with but little debate. In the Senate, there is but a mild cloture rule. It is still possible to filibuster. The individual




members of the Senate have much more freedom to ex- press their views and mark their wishes on legislation than do members of the House.

The next constitutional amendment adopted after prohibition was that of woman suffrage in 1920. It was of great moment to our nation. I well recall that an advocate of woman suffrage used the term which was one slogan in the Revolutionary War, and upon which that contest was largely fought, that taxation without representation was unjust.

The result of the adoption of this amendment has been the advancement of many women to office. There have been and are now a number of women in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, there has been but one woman elected - Arkansas' own Hattie W. Caraway. Sena- tor Caraway has not only made good, but occupies a very influential status in that body.

One illustration of the popularity of Senator Caraway in the Senate was given in the passage of her bill, which prevented the loss of a member of Congress by Arkansas, known as the Apportionment Act. They said this could not be done, but it was. It was a personal tribute to the Senior Senator from Arkansas, as well as the cleverest handling of a legislative measure of comparable importance I have ever seen.

There is a very definite place for at least a number of women in the Congress. I have never seen any good reason why women should ever have been denied the right of suffrage. History shows that some queens have made the best and wisest rulers in the world.

The adoption of the prohibition amendment marked a decided change in our national life, although its operation was short lived. There were many reasons for its failure to do away with the evil of drink. Only one is mentioned, and that is rather psychological. More than one prominent Dry has told me that the use of the word "prohibition"




was particularly hurtful to the cause. What they had in mind was that the instant an American was prohibited from doing anything there was somi strange strain in him which made him want to rebel. This situation was somewhat relieved in 1933 by the adoption of the Twenty-first Amend- ment. For the first time in our history one amendment repealed a previous one.

Another amendment which was adopted and which had considerable effect on our government is known as the "Lame Duck" amendment. This, among other things, changed the dates of the inauguration of the President and Vice-President, and the times upon which the terms of members of Congress began.

There were many advantages in this change. Perhaps the most important was that which gave the name to the amendment; theretofore a member of Congress could be beaten for reelection and yet serve in another session of Con- gress before retiring. These men were known as "lame ducks" ; in the last session of Congress in which they served, they seemed to be less responsive to the electorate in legislative matters.

No story of this period would be complete without mention, of propaganda. Its effect on legislative, as well as other governmental operations has been remarkable. It steadily increased in volume through the years prior to our entry in the First World War. From that time on, it has grown with leaps and bounds. Today its operations have a very vital effect on almost every legislative action and national policy. One result has been to give organized minor- ities great power. Quite often it is possible for them to have greater weight in determining our present and future than unorganized majorities. There is no major organization or governmental department that does not utilize this method to their advantage.

The constitutional amendments quoted above changed our form of government to a considerable degree. However, the laws put into effect under which the so-called New



24O ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Deal operated have had even a more vital effect. The basis for the use of these many new activities of government was the effort to relieve the evil effects of the depression which the nation was undergoing when Franklin D. Roose- velt assumed office. Many of these policies, while new to the United States, had been in effect in many other nations long before. There are too many of them upon which

. to comment in a brief article. Some of these have operated to great advantage. Others have not had the same result. I am of the opinion that, taken as a whole, they have been very helpful. Without them, our nation may have suffered greatly, more so than the average person thinks. Many of these efforts have been gradually eliminated. I predict however, that we shall have some of the more vital with us for many years to come. It may be forever.

Because of the growth of so many new agencies and their assumption of power, there has arisen a situation which may become serious. For a number of years now the Congress has lost much of its former importance in the scheme of government. It is one of the three great branches of government. Under the Constitution it was rightly placed first. Its function was to make laws under which the Executive and Judicial powers were to operate. I think the framers of the Constitution had another and a greater reason; that was the fact that, with the exception of the President, the members of Congress were the only members of government directly elected by the people. That I regard as the mainspring of a democratic government.

During this emergency it has been necessary for strong governmental control. I look for an effort to be made by departmental heads and others to retain these controls after peace comes. Congress will no doubt make an effort to regain the powers which it abdicated. Upon the success of this effort much depends. If Congress does not regain its rightful place granted to it under the Constitution, our de- mocracy may be succeeded by a bureaucracy.

As the operations of government have increased, so




has the work in government offices. It is no longer a "garden seed" job. The scope covered by the average volume of mail coming to Congressional offices is almost beyond comprehension.

The mail is always interesting. It quite often contains

things which are amusing as well as pathetic. Some are

intentionally humorous, others funny because of some bizarre statement made. For example there was one not

long ago saying: "I was brutally murdered in a hospital - ". One man wanted a job as a detective, and he wrote: "Please send me gun, badge and handcuffs by return mail. I know something." Letters come in which tell of such abject poverty and helplessness that it makes your heart ache. Naturally, some of these are spurious, but you learn to dif- ferentiate. The war has greatly augmented these letters of an unusual nature.

In addition to the great amount of official business attended to, there is the opportunity to render many personal favors. This is something out of which I always get. pleasure. Assistance has been given to the ill, the unfortunate, and has been rendered at times of death, births, and wed- dings. Only recently in the absence of the father, I gave away a young Arkansas bride in a wedding ceremony. Dur- ing the depression I aided in securing clothing for the needy, including several layettes. Among other things, I act as a sort of bureau of information regarding Arkansas. There is scarcely ever a dull moment.

The enormous expansion of governmental activity naturally has called for a large increase in the number of employes. In this connection I wish to call attention to the need of better educational advantages for our boys and girls, whether they enter the public service or go into private business. The entire future of our country, the fate of the nation, will depend upon how well the task of edu- cating our boys and girls is done. During the years I have been connected with the Congress, one of the first ques-




tions asked of any applicant for a Federal position is as to his or her educational training. Very often I have been disappointed in not being able to assist an applicant because of the lack of such qualifications.

It is surprising how often the possession of a college diploma is of assistance in securing a position. It has meant more than what has been popularly termed "political in- fluence''. I recall one instance of a young lady who ap- plied for a position in the Library of Congress, a very desirable place for young women. In trying to be of assistance I was asked if she were a college graduate and also about her grades. It so happened that in my possession was her last report card, which showed she had made eight straight A's. She got the position without any dif- ficulty.

Lack of preparedness causes many disappointments and many tragedies. What is true with people is true with nations. We fought the first World War under the theory that it was a war to end all wars. The United States gladly entered the contest with the desire to end forever the spirit of force which was seeking then to envelop the world. We won the war. We then proceeded to toss the benefits away.

Woodrow Wilson warned us then that we would either have to have the League of Nations, or something similar, or else stay prepared. We did neither. Instead we pursued a well-intended, but totally impossible, theory of disarmament. We not only permitted our great effort of that war to disintegrate, but we actually scrapped many vessels of our fleet, as well as permitted our Army to descend to a low ebb.

By this policy the United States, as well as the other great democracies, invited another war. We permitted Ger- many, Italy and Japan, under cruel and soulless dictators, to sow the seeds of future wars by constant arming. It was only a matter of time until the world again would be plunged into conflict. It was just as certain as the days come and




go. The United States and other great democracies failed and refused to see this rising tide of force. They did not prepare. We not only embarked on this policy of disarmament, but we tried to hide behind the theory of isolationism.

At one time the oceans did give us a measure of isolation and protection. That has long since vanished. The day the first airplane crossed the ocean marked the end of the doubtful isolation which we once enjoyed. I recall the statement made by President Rooosevelt regarding the policy of isolation when he said :

"It is indeed a fallacy, based on no logic at all, for any American to suggest that the rule of force can defeat human freedom in all other parts of the world and allow it to survive in the United States alone. But it has been that childlike fantasy itself, that misdirected faith, which has led nation after nation to go about their peaceful tasks, relying on the thought, and even the promise, that they and their lives and their government would be allowed to live when the juggernaut of force came their way."

Because of this length of service, and due to the rather unusual fact that I wrote the original declaration^" war with Germany in 19 17, and in fact have handled all other declarations of war since the Spanish-American, I have received more publicity than that to which I am entitled. Of the many things which have been said, I appreciated more, if possible, two statements placed in the Congres- sional Record. One was placed in the Record by Congress- man Fad jo Cravens in the House of Representatives on April 21, 1941, and the other by Senator Lister Hill of Alabama on December 11, 194 1.1

It was an honor to be asked to make this contribution to the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. It is with pleasure that I have done so.

3 For these tributes see footnote, at beginning of article.



Documents

"Watching Washington" for Thirty-Five Years